Obesity Epidemic Needs Government Rules: NYC Health Chief

By Shannon Pettypiece -
Sep 18, 2012

Governments should regulate food
companies on unhealthy ingredients in products that contribute
to obesity, an epidemic that now affects 1-in-3 Americans and
costs the U.S. $150 billion a year, said New York City Health
Commissioner Thomas Farley.

More than education and voluntary action by companies is
needed, Farley said. New York’s limit on sugary soft drink sales
is one example of the steps governments must take to stop the
rise of obesity, he said today at a press conference on the
topic held by the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Publicly traded food companies, charged with making a
profit for their shareholders, can’t be relied upon to make
their foods more nutritious, Farley said. New York City approved
a measure last week to restrict sales of sugary soft drinks to
no more than 16 ounces a cup in food venues, has already banned
trans fats in food and is working with food companies to lower
salt content.

“There is a clear role for government in the solution,”
Farley said. “Obesity rates have been rising considerably for
the last 30 to 40 years. If we don’t do anything, I think it is
a fair prediction that they will continue to rise.”

About 60 percent of adults in New York City are overweight
or obese and 1-in-8 have diabetes, which is often caused by
obesity, Farley said. A person with a body mass index of at
least 30 is considered obese, according to the National
Institutes of Health. The BMI is calculated using height and
weight. A man who is 6 feet tall and weighed more than 220
pounds would be considered obese using the formula.

Soda Size

The size of a soda has increased from about 6.5 ounces in
the 1960s to 20 ounces today, according to Farley. He said
surveys have found that Americans eat 200 to 600 more calories a
day than they did in the 1970s and that sugary drinks are
playing a role in that added calorie consumption.

The city’s soda size rule is not government restriction on
choice, adding that people can consume as much as they want at
restaurants as long as it isn’t with a cup larger than 16
ounces, Farley said.

“While the idea of government regulation on portion size
is new, we think it makes all the sense in the world,” Farley
said. “It is entirely manageable by the food industry.”

The American Beverage Association and the National
Restaurant Association opposed the restrictions. Calories from
sugary beverages as a percentage of Americans’ diets are
declining, both groups say. U.S. soft-drink sales have fallen
for seven straight years, according to Beverage Digest.

The health department said it received 38,000 comments on
the restriction, with 32,000 in support and 6,000 opposed.